It seems there's a lot of negative reaction to this year's SXSW. Revision3's Jim Louderback complains he's been blackballed and wonders why the event still needs panels...even though he snuck in and participated on three. The Huffington Post's Mayhill Fowler says the event has grown too big and lost its edge. ReadWrite Web's Jolie O'Dell wrote a post entitled "Why SXSW Sucks" on her personal blog which now has 127 comments and counting.

In reaction to O'Dell's article, SiliconAngle defended the event in an article entitled Why SXSW Doesn't Suck (and used a picture I took last year thank you very much) citing the fact they got 15 to 20 hours of usable video content from the event.

While I dig myself out from under the onslaught of digiliciousness otherwise known as SXSW, the least I can do is share with you the images from the conferences I've taken to date. There's a lot. There's the pre-show gathering at the Driskell. There's the lingerie-fueled TechSet party. There's the Capybara. There's the Digg party. There's the Tumbler party. There's the Powered Party. There's the Barbarian Group party. There's the Mashable party.

On Friday the masses arrived in Austin for SXSW. As is always the case, it was a meet and greet fest of epic social media proportion. Even Robert Scobel is here if anyone actually cares. The panels began at 2PM but most of the afternoon was spent hanging in the hallways meeting people as they arrived.

By the time all that meet and greet was over and lunch was had - at which we waited an hour and a half for our burgers (which were very good) - it was time to start drinking. After all, this is SXSW. Laura Fitton held a gathering at Champions. Jason Falls had a party. There was the TechSet party. The Mix at Six. And a late night, flash mob-style gathering at the Driskill. And that's just what we made it to. There were at least 20 other events going on throughout the city. We're sure the Pastries and Pasties party was good but we went last year.

Did you know if you check in (on Foursquare, that is) to two hotels in one night you earn the Hookup badge? Well, yes you do. Even if you didn't actually hook up. And that's what's so representative of Foursquare's stupidity.

Now, don't get us wrong. We love Foursquare. We're obsessed with it. We check in everywhere we go. It's a game. It's fun. And at SXSW it helps you find out where the people are and where the action's at. So no complaint's from that front. But when you can add your own venues, such as "Missy Ward's Cleavage" (this is true), and have it stay in the system for weeks, it goes beyond being funny. And you really have to wonder about those people with thousands of points. If you do the math, they'd have to traverse the country and check into hundreds of places each week to attain their position in the rankings. You just have to wonder.

In his address during Monday's AAAA's Transformation Conference, Publicis Groupe's Rishad Tobaccowala told attendees the advertising industry needs builders, people with the audacity to "remake industries." He also gave a slap to industry bigwigs when he said, "You came in with dreams, and now you stand with spreadsheets."

He's right. The industry has become a collection of holding companies which function as bean counters. Free thinking and big ideas have disappears. And in their place, the almighty dollar without regard for how that dollar is earned.

Take risks, people. Bring back the big idea. We are a creative industry. We need to be creative. Yes, we all need to make money. But not at the expense of big ideas and great creativity.

- Using its Facebook fan page with a membership of 3.7 million, Skittles' "Valentine the Rainbow" lets users create a digital valentine for an unsuspecting, hand-picked meter maid, one of the most hated professions in the country and one that deserves some sweet lovin'.

On Monday, SocialFresh held a conference in Tampa at the Doubletree Hotel. There were about 250 attendees or the day-long event. The usual social media-related topics were covered but, more importantly, we all gathered to watch the Super Bowl together Sunday night before the conference began.

Once the conference did begin, keynote speaker Maggie Fox from Social Media Group touched on how her company handles social media and uttered an all-important notion we've said over and over again here: Viral is a thing that happens. Not a strategy. Indeed. While you can certainly plan and make every conceivable effort to enable something to go viral, until it goes viral, it ain't viral.

- Check out Whose Voice is That? It's all about celebrity voiceovers and they've just posted a Super Bowl commercial roundup that looks at ten classic Super Bowl spots making great use of the narrator and/or voiceover.

- "The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue," an exhibit that celebrates the contributions made to American business and to popular culture by the real stars of Madison Avenue, is coming to San Francisco for its first public showing outside of New York City at the Academy of Art University's 79 Gallery on New Montgomery Street February 24, 2010 for a one-week showing.

No one needs to go to another social media conference, right? Wrong. You have to this particular one because I'll be there. And while I'm not as witty or acerbic (OK, harsh) as George Parker, I do have my issues with social media. It's viable for some things and not so much for others.

The conference is called SocialFresh and it takes place February 5 (yes, that's the day after Super Bowl) in Tampa, FL. Did you hear that? Tampa. As in Florida. As in warm. As in not snowing.

And if you use the code ADRANT4, you will get $125 off the $315 price.